Table 2.
Knowledge and perception about self-medication practice among respondents (n = 866)
| SA | A | U | D | SD | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge questiona | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Self-medication is defined as “the taking of drugs, herbs or home remedies on one's own initiative, or on the advice of another person, without consulting a doctor or pharmacist.” | 557 (64.3%) | 277 (32.0%) | 7 (0.8%) | 10 (1.2%) | 15 (1.7%) | ||||||
| 2 | Using an old prescription to treat a recurring condition is self-medication | 318 (36.7%) | 411 (47.5%) | 71 (8.2%) | 50 (5.8%) | 16 (1.8%) | ||||||
| 3 | Using left-over medications from a prior properly diagnosed illness to treat a recurrent one is self-medication | 303 (35.0%) | 403 (46.5%) | 79 (9.1%) | 65 (7.5%) | 16 (1.8%) | ||||||
| 4 | A physician’s prescription is necessary before the purchase of any medication | 329 (38.0%) | 294 (33.9) | 70 (8.1) | 132 (15.2) | 41 (4.7%) | ||||||
| 5 | It is possible to correctly treat illnesses without the physician’s prescription | 59 (6.8%) | 415 (47.9%) | 159 (18.4%) | 151 (17.4%) | 82 (9.5%) | ||||||
| 6 | Using prescription only medications without the doctor’s prescription can cause complications | 310 (35.8%) | 417 (48.2%) | 71 (8.2%) | 48 (5.5%) | 20 (2.3%) | ||||||
| 7 | Self-medication can lead to drug dependence and adverse drug reaction | 343 (39.6%) | 403 (46.5%) | 76 (8.8%) | 29 (3.3%) | 15 (1.7%) | ||||||
| 8 | Self-medication can cause pathogen resistance | 356 (41.1%) | 374 (43.2%) | 80 (9.2%) | 36 (4.2%) | 20 (2.3%) | ||||||
| Cut-off score | Remark | Self-medication | No Self-medication | |||||||||
| < 80 | Poor knowledge | 223 (57.6%) | 164 (42.4%) | |||||||||
| ≥ 80 | Good knowledge | 250 (52.2%) | 229 (47.8%) | |||||||||
| χ2 = 2.547 p-value = 0.111 | ||||||||||||
| Perception questionb | ||||||||||||
| 1 | The use of medications without the physician’s prescription is safe | 22 (2.5%) | 46 (5.3%) | 121 (14.0%) | 401 (46.3%) | 276 (31.9%) | ||||||
| 2 | The use of left-over medication from friends and family is safe | 20 (2.3%) | 28 (3.2%) | 65 (7.5%) | 373 (43.1) | 380 (43.9%) | ||||||
| 3 | Self-medication cannot cause serious health hazards | 48 (5.5%) | 88 (10.2%) | 83 (9.6%) | 315 (36.4%) | 332 (38.3%) | ||||||
| Cut-off score | Remark | Self-medication | No Self-medication | |||||||||
| < 80 | Poor perception | 155 (55.0) | 127 (45.0) | |||||||||
| ≥ 80 | Good perception | 318 (54.5) | 266 (45.5) | |||||||||
| χ2 = 0.020 p-value = 0.887 | ||||||||||||
aMaximum obtainable score = 40; %individual score = score obtained by an individual ÷ by total obtainable score × 100. Strongly agree (SA) = 5, Agree (A) = 4, Undecided (U) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2, Strongly disagree (SD) = 1
bMaximum obtainable score = 15; %individual score = score obtained by an individual ÷ by total obtainable score × 100. Strongly agree (SA) = 5, Agree (A) = 4, Undecided (U) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2, Strongly disagree (SD) = 1